


When the Cameras Stop Rolling

by Almost_Decent



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Angst, Angsty fluff?, F/M, Fluff, also angst, fluffy angst?, i just love Michael and Holly, idk how to tag this, im sorry, just an ungodly amount of fluffiness, soup snakes, this is literally just my bisexual ass having grand ol time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21922180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Almost_Decent/pseuds/Almost_Decent
Summary: What takes place with our soup snakes after an episode ends(I’m not doing this in order oops)(Very few regrets)
Relationships: Holly Flax/Michael Scott
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. 7.18 Todd Packer

She really should be working right now.

What Holly had found, however, was that working just wasn’t an option today, with Kelly rambling on about how Ryan stood her up last night, but ”He had a really good reason because there was a bee in his car, and he’s like, crazy allergic and oh my god Holly did you watch survivor last night? Russel is such a perverted asshole!” And with Michael texting her something adorable every five minutes on top of that, there wasn’t a chance that she could accomplish anything of any value.  
So, the moment Kelly paused in her ramblings, Holly mumbled a quick “I have to give these forms to Michael” and walked out of the annex, empty-handed, and over to Michael’s office. 

Despite his new discovery of gifs, and all the cute animal ones he’d been texting her, he looked sad  
for some reason. When he noticed she’d walked in though, he broke out into a huge grin. 

“Hey!”

“I love you”

That made his smile get even bigger. She liked making him smile. 

“I love you too. What’s up?”

“Kelly was rambling, and you were blowing up my phone, so I came to talk to you.” 

“Oh, Okay”

“Are you okay though, honey? You seemed a little sad when I walked in.”

That seemed to suck all of the happiness from his face. Maybe reminding him of being sad wasn’t her best idea. 

He seemed to be thinking over his response quite thoroughly. It seemed as if, for a moment, he forgot that she was there.

“I’m not sad. I’m just disappointed.”

For all the pondering he was doing just moments ago, his answer was vague and gave her almost nothing to work with. 

“Disappointed in…?”

“In myself, I guess. I’ve idolized Packer for almost 19 years, Holly, and It took me until today to realize who he really is.”

It wasn’t often that Michael was so thoughtful in this way. He was very introspective in this moment, and Holly appreciated his trust in her, that he made himself vulnerable in her company, shared his inner thoughts with her. She metaphorically took a step back, just listening to his musings, but physically became closer to him, moving his things to the side, and taking a seat on the desk in front of him.

“I suppose I’ve known for a while, he’s not the best friend I made him out to be, but I still thought highly of him, I still considered him one of my closest friends. I’ve known him 19 years, honey, how did it take me until today to realize what an ass he is? I’m so…” he seemed at a loss for words at this point, exasperated and disheartened. She didn’t lime seeing him this way. “Stupid. I’m oblivious and stupid and the people I look up to and respect always seem to be the biggest asses in the end!”

“You’re not stupid, Michael.”

“Really doesn’t feel that way, hon!”

He wasn’t shouting at her. Early in their relationship she hadn’t realized this, the first few times she let him go off like this, she worried she was doing something wrong, but as she grew better at analyzing him, she realized it was simply a defensive instinct. He would open up, speak about something he was reluctant to share, and immediately he would try to protect himself from it, now that he had released it to the room, that it was no longer confined within him. 

Upon this discovery of hers, she learned that in moments like this, she needed to show him that she would be his defense. Once he freed his harmful thoughts, she could fight them off with him, help him work through what bothered him.

So, she took his face between her hands, thumbs running over his cheekbones the way she knew he loved, doing everything in her power to calm him down, let him know that she was there for him, making sure he knew she would never be the opposition. 

“You aren’t Stupid, honey. You aren’t oblivious. You saw the best in him, you trusted him. You’re not stupid for showing him that kindness. If anyone is stupid, he is for abusing that.”

“So, I’m not stupid?”

She bent down closer to him, slid her hands down to his shoulders, and left a gentle kiss on his forehead to emphasize how serious and honest she was being in that moment. 

“Of course you’re not stupid, Michael. It’s ridiculous that you could think that about yourself. You can’t equate trust to stupidity.”

His next move was surprising to her, as he seemed to do something on his computer, she couldn’t tell what it was from her angle, but it didn’t seem to matter, as in her peripheral vision she could see the screen go dark.

“Five Thirteen.”

“Oh, okay. You ready to go home then?”

“Not yet.”

Without another word, he stood up in front of her, and pulled her face to his, stealing a kiss from her lips, and her breath along with it. His hands moved, one to the back of her head, tangling itself in her hair, and the other down to her lower back, pulling her off his desk and onto her feet, trying to get a new angle, to kiss her better. 

His hands moved again, this time lifting her off the ground entirely, giving her the opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck, finally matching his height, finally able to kiss him properly. They stayed like that for a few moments, whether it felt like seconds or hours they were unsure.

They were interrupted however, by the phone ringing loudly. Holly recognized the number as being within the office, but she wasn’t sure who’s extension it was. 

Michael picked up the phone and hit the speaker button, and momentarily, Phyllis’ voice filled the room. 

“You two left the blinds open.”

The call ended, leaving them both embarrassed, she could see the redness in his cheeks and could feel it in her own. Holly released her grip on him, and Michael dropped her back down onto his desk. They were mildly humiliated, to be sure, but they couldn’t help but laugh. 

Holly wasn’t the type to get reprimanded for PDA, but with Michael, that seemed to be a common theme. 

He smiled down at her, and it gave her a pretty good idea of why this new theme was being introduced. 

“Maybe we should go home now?”

“Sounds like a solid plan.”


	2. 7.12 Classy Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas B*tches, here’s some angst!
> 
> Both Michael and Holly seemed unhappy by the time Classy Christmas ended, so here’s this :/

Today was the worst. Michael been so excited, he had wanted this for so long, and finally, by some sort of Christmas miracle, Holly came back. Holly was back, in Scranton, for Christmas, but he felt like shit. The day had started out great, he thought. When she came in that morning, they were joking, and laughing, and she hugged him, and it was like she never left. 

But then, she pulled that picture, and that stupid Woody doll, out from her box, and it was such a cruel reminder of how long she’d been gone. She had a boyfriend, still, and it wasn’t him. She was with someone else, and it seemed like that was never going to change. 

She smiled, when she talked about AJ, and it just made him want to die. She seemed happy, without him, and he wished, with everything in him, that he could say the same thing about himself. 

But he wasn’t happy alone. Here he was, eating black cherry ice cream straight from the tub, alone in his condo, wishing Holly was there too. He didn’t even like black cherry, but it was her favorite, and the thought of her was stuck in his head. 

He almost left, when AJ showed up at the office. He couldn’t take it when Holly just talked about him. Seeing them together, how AJ got to kiss her, and hold her hand, made him feel like death was his most painless option. If Pam hadn’t stopped him as he left, he couldn’t with confidence say that he would still be alive and well. 

As he sat, the now empty tub of ice cream in his lap, he realized that he should probably sleep, but he seemed too broken to be tired.

__________

It should have been a great day, really. 

On paper, it seemed like everything had been great. Aside from the Woody mishap, everything had been wonderful. She was reunited with one of her closest friends, after almost two years of separation. It felt surreal, walking back into suite 200 of the Scranton Business Park, seeing someone new at reception, and a whole new office back by accounting, but when she talked to Michael again, it was as if she had never left. They were joking, and laughing, and it felt so impossibly right, being there with him. She forgot how much she missed his smile, and that sparkle in his eyes.

They both went away, she noticed, when AJ came up in the conversation.

That was the other great thing about today, her boyfriend, of almost two years, who lives a seven hour drive away, had come to surprise her. 

She should have been happier, about that.

He had driven seven hours for her, but a part of her (that was entirely too large) really wished he hadn’t. She couldn’t help it though, when he showed up she just felt wrong, as if she shouldn’t be occupying the same space as him. 

It didn’t make sense to her though, they had a healthy relationship. They rarely fought, she rarely found herself mad at him. They got along well, most of the time. Sure, sometimes he would come home drunk and upset, but he always felt bad in the mornings, and would tell her he was sorry for yelling, once the hangover wore off. And she was okay with it really, even when sometimes she was the butt of his jokes, he always told her he loved her at the end of the night. She wasn’t perfect either, sometimes she would mess up, forget to feed the fish, or pay the electric bill. They had a steady relationship, they had a future in front of them, marriage and a family. They were solid. At her point in life, she really couldn’t ask for more than that. 

Still, somehow lying in bed next to him, she felt wrong. 

She couldn’t help but think back to her relationship with Michael, so long ago. It should be no more than a distant memory now, but he was right, she could still remember every second of them. 

She remembered kicking his ass at mini golf, and the time he took her ice skating, and staying up until two a.m. just talking with him. She never went on cute dates like that with AJ. She kept reminding herself, Michael was a fling two years ago. It was fun, but it couldn’t have lasted. She had a real, adult relationship with AJ, and she wasn’t in any position to give that up.

AJ drove seven hours to be with her today, it really wasn’t fair of her to be thinking about Michael right now, as AJ lay asleep in bed next to her.

It really wasn’t fair that she wished it was Michael in bed beside her.


	3. 4.14 Goodbye Toby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh boy that’s some angsty shit (well, it’s not super angsty, but it’s definitely not fluff.)

**4.14**

He had a lot to think about.

Jan was pregnant.

Jan was having a baby, and he wasn't the dad.

He wanted nothing more than to be a dad, but the baby wasn’t his. She hadn’t even had the decency of cheating on him. If she had cheated (even though he had _specifically_ asked her not to) at least he could think she wanted somebody else more than him. But she hadn’t even given him that. She would rather have a baby with a stranger than with him. She **_knew_** he wanted to be a dad. She **_knew_** that. But time and time again she ignored what he wanted. But she had invited her to her llamas class (what do llamas have to do with babies, anyway?) so maybe she did want him involved in her baby’s life. Maybe there was a chance he could be something of a father figure to her baby. Maybe having a kid would be worth spending time with Jan.

But Jan’s pregnancy wasn’t the only thing on his mind. 

Toby was gone, which was the second greatest thing to happen to Dunder Mifflin since World War II. After Years and years of having to overcompensate for the fun-vacuum that sat in the annex, he was finally free of the worst man he had ever known (except for Jeff, maybe).

Somehow, by some miracle, Toby leaving was even better than he’d imagined it. Not only had he gotten rid of evil incarnate, evil incarnate’s replacement just happened to be a human angel.

He _really_ liked Holly. He _really,_ ** _really,_** liked Holly. She was sweet, and friendly, and warm, and she laughed at his jokes, she understood his references, and he had only known her a day, but she _understood_ him. She was also really pretty, but that doesn’t matter, Michael is a lot of things, but he isn’t shallow like that. (Holly is a **_very_** attractive woman though.) 

Jim said to take things slow, but he really just wanted to kiss her, and hold her, and be with her. Jim told him that he didn’t love Holly, and he might have been partially right. Michael didn’t quite love Holly yet, but he knew he was going to. 

Michael Scott had met many women in his life.

But he knew Holly Flax was different.

  
  


___________

  
  


Yep. 

It’s official.

She was fucked.

It was her first day on the job, and she already had a crush on her boss. 

Holly was typically very professional, as HR she had to be, but Dunder Mifflin was different. The office was different, because  **_he_ ** was different. He cared for his employees like family, he treated them like friends; and something about that made her feel things for him. He was caring, and friendly, and she could tell she was falling for that. 

At first she thought that he was just being friendly, the way they joked at her desk, trying to put the chair she broke back together again. But it was when they were on the ferris wheel she realized that they could be more, and that maybe he wasn’t “just being friendly”, which leads her back to the fact that she was  **_so ridiculously fucked._ **

It was her first day on the job, and she already had a major crush. That by itself was bad enough, but no, she just  _ had  _ to be falling for her boss. If she were to have any hope at fitting in with her coworkers, she certainly couldn’t be dating the boss, and even more than that, were she to pursue Michael, there would be a major conflict of interest. Newsflash: HR can’t be in a romantic relationship with the regional manager. Even if she did have a chance with Michael, they could never work as long as they stayed at Dunder Mifflin. 

The worst part of it all, was that she thought it might be worth it. Part of her knew Michael was different. He understood her. She felt comfortable being herself around him. He laughed at her dorky jokes, and he had stood up for her, and she had really thought, even if only for a moment, that he might feel the same way.

But when she shot her shot, he shot her down.

Her job was more important. 

She knew that.

So she sat in her empty new apartment, trying to convince the hopeless romantic in her to agree.

  
  



	4. 5.3 Baby Shower

**5.3**

  
  


She knew he didn’t mean it. But it still kind of stung.

Even if he was just saying it to “spare Jan’s feelings”, it stung.

To have someone she cared for so deeply, be so casually cruel to her, it hurt. It hurt more than he could’ve known it would. 

It wasn’t his words that hurt. Sure, being told she smelled like old tomatoes wasn’t exactly pleasant, but his reason for hurting her made her feel worse than she had in a long time.

He was doing it for Jan. He was hurting her for his ex-girlfriend and her sperm-bank baby.

Holly thought she had meant more to him.

She saw the way Jan treated him, and manipulated him. She’d heard the horror stories of their relationship from Oscar and Jim. How she would yell at him, and embarrass him in front of everyone. Sure, Michael wasn’t perfect, but he clearly deserved better than that. 

It was like a punch in the stomach, seeing him choosing to be treated like that, and willing to hurt her to make Jan happy.

It was almost sweet, seeing how desperately he wanted to be a dad, even to a baby that would never be his.

But knowing she wasn’t anywhere near as important as his ex’s kid hurt too deep for her to appreciate the sweetness.

He had been so cute this morning, with his pirate voice, and his smile. He called her pretty, and she wasn’t in any position to disagree with him then. She didn’t realize that “being a bit cold to her” would hurt her so badly. 

He really didn’t know how much she cared about him, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on loving him quietly.

  
  


______________

  
  
  


Maybe it was out of defiance, or impatience, or regret, but he needed to let her know.

He was tired of pretending he didn’t love her, and pretending she was just his friend. 

The baby shower had been a terrible idea. 

It was supposed to be a way for him to make sure he was on Jan’s good side, so maybe he could finally have the family he’d always wanted.

Instead, it left him feeling empty, and Jan still hated him, and it was very clear she didn’t want him to be Astrid’s dad. 

All he had really accomplished was making Holly feel bad.

She had looked so hurt, and he hated that he could make her feel that way. He hated seeing her look so broken because of something he had said.

It was a stupid plan. God, he was so  _ fucking idiotic  _ sometimes. How, had he, a person with a functioning brain, thought that being mean to her would somehow make Jan want him to be the father. 

He needed to go make things right.

He  _ needed _ Holly to know that he didn’t mean any of it. He had to make sure that she  _ absolutely knew _ that he  _ never  _ wanted her to get hurt.

He needed to go back to the annex, and tell her he was an idiot, and that he loved her, and he couldn’t go on pretending he didn’t think she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and that he wanted nothing more than to be with her, to love her, and have her love him in return.

“Are you still gonna be mean to me?”

She smiled, but he could tell she didn’t mean it.

He didn’t know what to say anymore. 

So he just hugged her.

And even though that was not at all what he had wanted to do, and despite her initial hesitation, by some divine intervention, she hugged him back.

“You wanna go out?”

  
  


______________

Holly Flax was right about most things, and she took pride in that. 

But words couldn’t express how happy she was to have been wrong about how Michael felt.

  
  
  
  


She wasn’t all wrong today though, because deciding to kiss him when they reached the bottom of the stairs...

She had been  _ very right  _ about that.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel kinda bad for making them so angsty.  
> I promise I will eventually write some more fluff.  
> Probably.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. 
> 
> Leave a review, tell me what you think
> 
> P.S. If you took the time to read this   
> :] <3


End file.
